Author Archives: Arik Levy

About Arik Levy

Arik Levy is an 12 year veteran law enforcement officer working full time at a major metropolitan agency in the South East. He spent 7 years working the streets in patrol and as a field training officer. For the past four years he has been a full time firearms instructor teaching handgun, rifle and shotgun. Arik also has been competing in USPSA for the past two years where he is currently classified in Production Division at A class. He is a two time gold medalist in his division for the Florida Police and Fire games 3 Gun match, and a gold medalist in both the Practical Pistol and Shotgun match. He is also the Top Cop Pistol Champion for 2014 and 2015. He has trained with an extensive list of both tactical and competitive instructors including: Mike Pannone, Pat McNamara, Frank Proctor, Scott Reitz, Chris Costa, Max Michel, Frank Garcia, Bruce Gray, Ben Stoeger, Steve Anderson and Jerry Barnhart. Arik is also a certified Advanced Armorer with Glock, Colt, Sig Sauer and Smith and Wesson.

AAR: Jerry Barnhart 2 Day Tactical Pistol

Posted on by

The Burner…I’m not talking about the little Bunsen burner we used many eons ago in Chemistry class (gen Xrs and up) but the guy named Jerry Barnhart who burns down stages and is one of the most winning competitive shooters out there.  I had the pleasure of training with Jerry recently for a 2 day Tactical Pistol course.  Now before the inter webs go a blazing on “competition will get you killed!” and such, please direct your anger to my four part series here at MSW and see why I don’t agree with that fallacy.

Anyway, bottom line, shooting is shooting.  Period.  The competition or tactical drills that follow are secondary if you can’t make the shot.  This includes: shooting for accuracy, shooting on the move, head shots, 50 yard shots, etc.  So, can it with the “yee gads, that there is foolish training” talk and learn how to shoot under pressure and maybe we can have a coffee.  But I digress… Continue reading →

Gear review: PHLster holsters

Posted on by

Yes, there is another great alternative in appendix holsters. In my quest to find a great appendix holster, I’ve search and tried pretty much all that’s is out there..until a friend recommended to me a new holster from a Philly area company called PHLster (pretty catchy).

I tried two of their holsters for my Glock 19.  One, full size named the Access and the other, more minimalist called the Skeleton.  Both are inside the waistband and designed for appendix draw.

I’ll start with the more minimalist Skeleton.  I was very happy when I opened the package and saw my thoughts realized in a holster without me talking with the designer.  On my last holster review (The Q-Series) I liked the fact you could carry with basically a trigger guard cover and some belt retention device (clip or strap).  The benefit of the Q-Series was the ability to re-holster the firearm.  Of all the choices (at that time) I couldn’t find anything as good…until now. Continue reading →

Knowing

Posted on by

 

Knowing:

I like to use the word knowing in conjunction with the word CONFIDENCE.  Is knowing and confidence the same?  I’m going to talk about knowing in competition and the tactical world.  So what is knowing?  Knowing you have the confidence to make a shot.  Knowing you can hit a steel target at 50 yards.  At a 100 yards.  In competition, having the confidence to take a 30 yard shot on a partial target because you’ve done your homework.  You know what the sight picture looks like for that distance and what type of trigger pull you need.  You’ve zero’d your gun and know where the rounds are going to land. Continue reading →

SHOT Show mini reviews

Posted on by

Although I did not get to venture through the halls of splendor and witness the new hotness of every gun, gear and gadget, I did have the opportunity to look at a few items that piqued my interest.

I like clever and ingenious.  When someone looks at the mousetrap and says “I can do it better” that excites me.  I had the pleasure to sit down with some of these designers and take the opportunity to learn more about their nifty new thing.

First off, the Leupold D-EVO (Dual-Enhanced View Optic) http://www.leupold.com/tactical/scopes/d-evo

Continue reading →

The SHOT Show Primer

Posted on by

Going to SHOT Show?  What is that?  SHOT stands for Shooting, Hunting, and Outdoor Trade show that now has become synonymous   with “that cool, tactical (tacti-cool) show”.  In all seriousness, it’s where all the gun and gear companies come together with buyers (?) to show off their new products for the upcoming year.  It’s Mecca for the shooting industry no matter which side (competition or tactical) you are on. Continue reading →

Controlling time?

Posted on by

Last weekend I was at the range with a party of different shooters and friends.  There were several kinds of props and targets and everyone was having a good time shooting.  The group consisted of some novice shooters and at one station there was a military guy with his “babe” of a girlfriend.  She had taken up a stock Glock and was trying to knock down plates on the plate rack.  Well…she was struggling.  She was jerking the trigger, throwing shots repeatedly to the left driving through the magazine.  At this point, her “stud” came over and told her the all knowing advice of “slow dow and get your hits!”  Duh!  Just slow down and get your hits.  Of course this did NOT go well.  Our heroine tried her heart out but only managed to miss slowwwwly. Continue reading →

Shooting on the move or move then shoot?

Posted on by

To be or not to be, that is the question…or for us, it’s should I shoot on the move?

As a law enforcement trainer, I am routinely asked to incorporate shooting drills that have the officers shooting while moving.  In class, there are always students who push for that type of training especially in anything considered Advanced.  But what is shooting on the move? Continue reading →

Best hat..ever!

Posted on by

Best hat…ever!

What?  Are we talking about a hat?  Not a top hat or sombrero, but a ball cap no less.  Well, unless you’ve been in a cave (Taliban?) for the past decade, the ball cap is part of our tactical wardrobe.  But..not all caps are the same. Continue reading →

The Problem with…NOW!

Posted on by

Okay…what is he talking about….

Too often it has been my experience with law enforcement shooters (and competition too) that the need to pull the trigger “now” supersedes the requirement of hitting the target.  It’s like a building pressure in the mind that shooters will settle for less than an acceptable sight picture and blast off a round..or two..or three.  It’s almost as if a self gratifying sound and feeling overwhelms what the process should be. Continue reading →

Battle Belt Smack Down!

Posted on by

I come here today to review some of those super awesome belts that make your life better.  I’m guessing that someone smarter than me realized that wearing 50 lbs of mags, med kits and more mags on your chest rig led to pain and encumbered movement. They came up with MOLLE on a belt so you could carry more stuff on your waist and still have room for more mags on your chest.  They called it a “battle belt” (how cool…)  So now, if you want to be tactical, you need to “run” your gear on these new belts.  I do admit, it is more comfortable and functional than a standard “bat belt” I wear as a LEO.  Depending on your agency or unit, you might be able to ditch the old “leather” gear for one of these beauties.

The first one I’d like to talk about is the HSGI Battle Belt $79.  http://www.highspeedgear.com/hsgi/sure-grip-padded-belt-31PB.html

Continue reading →

Mini Review: Vertx Phantom Ops Airflow pants

Posted on by

I was lucky to receive the other day a pair of the new Vertx Phantom Ops Airflow pants.  If you don’t know who Vertx is, well then you’ve been asleep behind the wheel of the tactical fashion industry.  Vertx (from their website) “is the tactical brand of Fechheimer, owned by Berkshire Hathaway, Inc and makers of Flying Cross military and law enforcement uniforms.”  I also heard the name Arc’Teryx mentioned at SHOT one year as having input into the design (haven’t got confirmation yet..). Continue reading →

Top Cop Pistol Championship

Posted on by

The Top Cop Pistol Championship, April 19th, 2014.

What is the Top Cop Pistol Championship (www.topcop.org)?  The Broward Sheriff’s Advisory Council (an independent organization whose sole purpose is to raise money for the families of fallen officers and firefighters) thought there should be a pistol match where cops could shoot against each other regardless if they’ve competed in a sanctioned match (IPSC/USPSA, IDPA, GSSF, NRA, PPC, etc.)  They also felt the match would bolster inter-agency rivalries in a fun way and raise money with a Tribute Dinner to all who have fallen in Broward County, FL. Continue reading →

Shooting Without…Yourself.

Posted on by

So, what the hell does that mean? We often go to the range, start shooting a drill or even bullseye practice, and begin to make judgements.  “Damn, my shots keeping going to the left.”  “I’m shooting too slow”.  “Why can’t my group look like his group?” or even, “I suck!”  This is your ego or more commonly known as the conscious mind.  It tells us what’s going on.  It’s that running monologue in your head.  This reminds of me of the scene in the iconic Tom Cruise movie, “The Last Samurai.”  In it, our hero has learned the art of the sword and is in a competition with one of the instructors.  As it goes on, he has a hard time connecting and summarily gets his butt kicked. Continue reading →